Insulin contains a -turn (residues B20 -B23) interposed between two receptor-binding elements, the central ␣-helix of the B chain (B9 -B19) and its C-terminal -strand (B24 -B28). The turn contains conserved glycines at B20 and B23. Although insulin exhibits marked conformational variability among crystal forms, these glycines consistently maintain positive dihedral angles within a classic type-I -turn. Insulin, a small globular protein secreted by pancreatic  cells, plays a central role in the control of vertebrate metabolism (1). The hormone is stored in glucose-regulated secretory granules as microcrystalline arrays of Zn 2ϩ -stabilized hexamers (2) and functions as a Zn 2ϩ -free monomer. The protein contains two chains, designated A (21 residues) and B (30 residues). The structure of insulin is well characterized (3). In the T state, 3 the predominant conformation of the monomer in solution (4 -6), the A chain contains N-and C-terminal ␣-helices; the B chain contains a central ␣-helix flanked by N-and C-terminal extended segments (Fig. 1A). The product of a single-chain precursor, designated proinsulin (7), insulin contains three disulfide bridges required for its folding, stability, and function (5, 8 -10). Structure-function relationships have been extensively investigated (for review, see Ref. 11).The B chain of insulin contains two -turns (boxed in Fig. 1A, see below). The first is a type-IIЈ -turn comprising residues B7-B10 (black box); the second is a type-I -turn comprising residues B20 -B23 (red box; ball-and-stick model in Fig. 1B). Each contains one or more conserved glycines: Gly B8 , Gly B20 , and Gly B23 (Fig. 1C). These residues exhibit positive angles ("D-glycines") and, therefore, reside on the right side of the Ramachandran plane in regions unfavorable for L-amino acids. Gly B8 , which adjoins the A7-B7 inter-chain disulfide bridge, is invariant among vertebrate insulins and highly conserved among insulin-related growth factors (black box in Fig. 1C). Mutations at B8 markedly impair the stability of insulin and the yield of chain combination (12, 13); the efficiency of recombinant expression of a single-chain precursor (mini-proinsulin) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is likewise reduced (14,15). Whereas such unstable insulin analogs can be highly active, D-amino acid substitutions at B8 augment stability but markedly impair activity (12,13). Despite these profound stereospecific differences, the overall structures of D and L B8 analogs closely resemble native insulin (13,16).In this report we employ "chiral mutagenesis" to investigate the B20 -B23 -turn. The turn sequence is notable for conserved negative and positive charges (Glu B21 and Arg B22 in eutherian mammals) flanked by glycines (Fig. 1C). Experimental design is motivated by the pattern of main-chain dihedral angles (Table 1). To investigate the interrelation of structure, activity, and stability, isomeric analogs have been synthesized in which Gly B20 or Gly B23 is substituted by D-or L-Ala; control * This work was supported i...